International reading: Foreclosures surge 20% as Americans struggle to pay mortgages – and fears of 2008-style crash soar – Daily Mail Economist Stunned By Trump’s Latest Wild Claim: ‘Quite Literally False’ – Huff Post Ford CEO says he has 5,000 open mechanic jobs with 6-figure salaries from the shortage of manually skilled workers: ‘We are
A sea of read across Asian stock markets in response to the selloff on Wall Street as the premium for pricing in the re-start of the US federal government is being overshadowed by political events, namely a probable war in central America. Operation “Big Distraction” I think it’s called? Currency markets appear nonchalant however with
On Thursday, Stats NZ released data showing that 12,400 net migrants arrived in the year to September 2025, down from a net gain of 42,400 in the September 2024 year. The current migration inflow is also well below the circa 130,000 peak in 2023 and is below the decade average annual net inflow of about
In the second last line of the RBA’s exhaustive forecasts out to December 2027 was their projection for real wage growth in year-on-year terms at 6-month intervals. According to an analysis from Greg Jericho, the policy director at the Centre for Future Work, what they have projected is effectively two separate recessions for real wages
Why are wrongful dismissal claims soaring?…Everyone has a theory. A weakening job market. Artificial intelligence-assisted applications. Greater media attention on the cases leading to greater worker awareness of their rights. Did something break in people’s attitudes during the pandemic that contributed to the increase? Has working from home done something to curdle workplace relationships? A
Canberra is on a charge for the media moguls. Facebook owner Meta would be liable to pay the Australian Taxation Office more than $112 million a year if it fails to strike commercial deals with local publishers under new laws aimed at forcing recalcitrant social media platforms to pay for news. But the tax, which
Australia’s population grew by an extraordinary 8.5 million (45%) over the first 25 years of this century, far exceeding the population growth of other advanced nations. Over the four years from Q1 2021 to Q1 2025, Australia’s population grew by an estraordinary 1.88 million (7.9%)—equivalent to adding an Adelaide and Hobart to the nation’s population.
Amid the frenzy of economists calling rate holds and hikes, Westpac is making the most sense today. The bank argues that after a poorer performance in September, employment was stronger than anticipated in October, resulting in growth on a three-month average that was about ½ppt slower than it was six months prior. Moreover, the unemployment
The Market Ear on when things fall apart. Lower high SPX may be carving out a lower high, not a bullish look. 6800 is the key short-term support in futures; lose that and you’re into the channel lows and 50-day near 6750, with the big 6700 zone right below. Source: LSEG Workspace Momentum loss NASDAQ
In October, Chinese banks made 220bn yuan in new loans, a sharp decline from 1.29 trillion yuan in September. Compared to a year ago, the flow of loans increased 6.5%, a record low. Under the hood, corporate loans fell to 350bn yuan from 1.22 trillion yuan, while household loans, including mortgages, shrank by 360bn yuan